Legend of Zelda : Crucible of Souls
Legend of Zelda : Crucible of Souls '''is a Story Arc of the the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in the Hylian Realm and follows the perspective of the Kokiri heroine Serah. It is followed by Legend of Zelda : Blade of the Sun. Introduction Arc Beginning of an Adventure '''Serah is a young Kokiri living in the Kokiri Forest. One day, she is called by the Deku Tree, warden of her forest. He asks of her to find the kingdom's prince and go to the Temple of Time, telling her that she bears a special mark. Serah - who has been dreaming of adventure for years - complies with joy. However, as she walks in the Fields of Hyrule, she is ambushed by several undead creatures. As she is about to die, she is brought to the Lon Lon Ranch by Hilden, a mysterious Sheikah shinobi. He helps her recover and guides her towards Hyrule Castle the next morning. There, the two encounter the Gerudo thief Tamara as she attempts to breach into the Temple of Time. The three stumble upon inscriptions on the front of the temple, asking for three brave individuals to show proof of Courage, Wisdom and Power. Hilden seems to understand the inscription and guides Serah - who drags Tamara alongside her - towards the Kakariko Village. Trials of the Goddesses Hilden - who is revealed to be Prince Hilden, ruler of Hyrule - negociates with Sheikahs and Gorons for safe passage to the top of Death Mountain, and opens a path to a hidden temple, the Trial Shrine of Power. There, a series of trials is given to the heroes, culminating with Tamara facing a massive beast and triumphing, obtaining the Crest of Power. Hilden then guides the group towards the estuary of River Hylia and reveals the path to a hidden Trial Shrine of Wisdom. There, the group faces many puzzles and tricks, ending with Hilden guiding Serah towards a path of obstacles and traps to defeat a massive marine creature. The reward is Hilden's Crest of Wisdom. Finally, a side path in the Kokiri Forest, hidden by the ancient Wind Sage Fado, reveals the aerial Trial Shrine of Courage. Serah braves many trials there, facing her fears and clashing with a feral Dragon while being assaulted mentally by her worst fears. The support of Hilden and Tamara - who ended up taking a liking to the young Kokiri despite their rivalry - allows her to overpower the beast and claim the Crest of Courage. Crucible of Souls The trio returns to the Temple of Time which reacts to the three Crests and opens. After several more trials, a strange crucible is offered to the trio. As they take it, the voice of Link, the ancestral hero, speaks to Serah from within the crucible. Link explains that the Recurring Triad of him, Zelda and Ganondorf was instrumental in keeping the balance and peace of the Hylian Realm. Someone attacked this trinity's very structure and prevented Link from reincarnating once again, slowly sowing chaos into Hyrule. However, part of Link's soul survived in Serah - just as Tamara and Hilden bore a fragment of Ganondorf and Zelda. The only way for the Hylian Realm to be protected is for Serah, Hilden and Tamara to go back to where each reincarnation of Link was and to retrieve parts of his soul through the Crucible. Link teaches Serah a specific song, the Hymn of Souls, in order to perform that feat, then dissipates. The trio then departs once again, with a new aim. Main Arc Hero of the Twilight and War Tamara suggests discussing with her teacher Cia in the Gerudo Desert, certain that the woman possesses knowledge on where the soul fragments are. The desert witch accepts to help the trio, albeit asking for a favor in the future. She guides them towards a reconstruction of the Twilit Mirror, an artifact able to project to the Twilight Realm. There, the group finds Midna, Princess of the Twili, who has been waiting for centuries for this moment. As she is about to help them with their task, a shadowy, corrupted version of Midna's old rival Zant appears, turning Serah into a wolf and beginning to torture Midna. While Serah attacks Zant and defeats him, in a last act of spite, he throws Midna through the mirror into the light of day, exposing her to a lethal amount of daylight. Serah, still as a wolf, rides a dying Midna to Cia with Tamara and Hilden's help. The witch heals both Midna and Serah, although she asks for Serah to become her lover as a prize. Serah accepts, although she has evident feelings for Hilden. She retrieves two Soul Fragments, there, the Fragment of Twilight and the Fragment of Wars. Hero of the Seasons and Ages Serah investigates the Kokiri forest and finds, through the help of the ancient spirit of Saria, paths to Holodrum and Labrynna. Her first visit is the world of Holodrum where the general Onox kidnaps the Avatar of the Deity Din in front of her. She braves many dangers and obtains a mysterious Rod manipulating seasons in order to defeat him, freeing Din and obtaining the Fragment of Seasons. Din congratulates her before disappearing. Her next step is Labrynna, where times have been twisted by the witch Veran. The latter possesses the body of the local Avatar, Nayru, using it to twist times and starting an era of despair. Serah once again rushes in Veran's Black Tower to stop her, freeing Nayru from Veran through the magic of strange green seeds offered by a veiled person, and banishing the witch. She obtains then the Fragment of Ages. Exiting the pathways in the forest, Serah encounters once more the veiled woman who reveals herself to be the last Avatar, Farore. The goddess guides Serah towards a hidden spot next to Lake Hylia where she will find three maritime fragments. Hero of the Winds, Sands and Dreams Hilden, thanks to Serah's new indications, finds an ancient boat at the spot marked by Farore. Using his magic, he transports the boat to a distant future where Hyrule has been submerged by a massive flood. There, facing the world's ancient guardian, a Golem guarding the Tower of the Gods, Serah retrieves the Fragment of Winds. Going further into the future, the group finds Captain Linebeck, a sailor and old friend of Link who requests their help with the ancient threat of Bellum. By the time Serah retrieves the Phantom Hourglass needed to stop him, the demonic entity of sands possesses Hilden, leading to a dangerous fight ending with Serah finally exorcising and defeating Bellum. Serah and Hilden end up declaring their love for eachother after the fight, having obtained the Fragment of Sands. As the group attempts to return to the present, a strange storm strands them on the island of Cocolint. There, they are tormented by a vicious entity, the Nightmare, who plays with their insecurities, almost breaking Tamara by playing on her loneliness and emptiness as well as jealousy of Serah and Hilden. However, Serah breaks through the darkness by embracing Tamara and showing her that she is not alone, dispelling the darkness - as well as Cocolint itself, revealed to be a mirage - and obtaining the Fragment of Dreams. Hero of Light and Shadow The Wind-Fish who dreamt of Cocolint rewards Serah by returning the group to the present, on a now flying ship. There, they see the Palace of Winds in the clouds. They visit it, however they are no match for Sorcerer Vaati who owns the place and attempts to make Serah his slave. The group barely escapes, and Serah has strange visions of a place in the forest. She goes there and is greeted by Vaati's old teacher Ezlo. Ezlo guides Serah towards an ancient treasure, the Four Swords, the only weapon able to defeat Vaati. Serah once again battles Vaati and this time emerges victorious, obtaining the Fragment of Light. She however decides to spare Vaati, who decides to help her and guides her towards a strange temple in the desert, leading to another Fragment. The temple, however, turns out to be a trap leading to the Dark World, a cursed version of Hyrule. There, Serah is forced to battle her inner demons, including a dark version of her, Dark Serah, who taunts her and almost defeat her ; Tamara however steps in and crushes the dark version of Serah, reclaiming the Fragment of Shadow. Hero of Masks and Skies Serah continues her journey towards yet another world, that of Termina. There, however, she is ambushed by the spirit of Majora, a corrupting entity who appeals to Serah's childish personality and twists her into an instrument of massive destruction. A possessed Serah attempts to destroy all worlds, beginning with Termina. However, Tamara attacks her and distracts her long enough for Hilden to cast a powerful spell on her. In her fractured mind, Serah meets another entity, the Demon God, a mysterious man who helps her reach greater power. Reaching out to him, she becomes Demon God Serah and shatters Majora's influence, reclaiming at the same time the Fragment of Masks. Then, a door appears in Hyrule's sky, leading to the final fragment. The door leads to Hyrule's origine, where the groups learns of Demise, an extremely powerful Oni who attempts to claim the world as his own. A fight with Demise's incarnated sword, Ghirahim, confirms that Demise was the one who shattered the Triad and Link's soul ; however, the group manages to unite and finally crush Ghirahim, reclaiming the last fragment, the Fragment of Skies. A Legend Reborn Link's soul now completes resonates with the soul of Zelda and Ganondorf, granting Hilden, Tamara and Serah herself fragments of the long-lost Triforce. However, as they reclaim their full power and memories, the Triad's seal is finally broken and Demise returns to Hyrule, bent on destroying everything. Hilden, Tamara and Serah unite their power one last time and finally crush Demise after an extremely harsh battle, putting the whole equilibrium of the Hylian Realm in peril ; they seal it once again with a new Recurring Triad made of their very existence, promising to always reincarnate and perpetuate a legend, the Legend of Serah. Other Arcs Waning Worlds In a specific Timeline, Paradox Omega, a playful yet twisted individual, attacks the Hylian Realm and attempts to claim it as its own. Hilden, Tamara and Serah once again reunite to clash with her, but end up drawn in a trap and teleported alongside their ship - and many of their closest friends and rivals - in the disappearing world of Sylphestia. There, they rescue the lost Sirius Astel and Sonia Fangstone, lost at sea. The crew is later attacked by a newly resurrected Endymion, who claims Sonia as his possession, and takes the ship back to the Cheshire Isle, granting a safe haven to the people of the Hylian Realm, as well as promising to train Serah into becoming one of the greatest heroes of all time. Characters * Serah * Tamara * Hilden * Demise * Link * Cia * Midna * Other Hylian Realm Characters Trivia * See Hylian Realm Artifacts for a list of minor artifacts. * This Storyline serves a peculiar role ; it is an introduction of sorts to the other Legend of Zelda storylines, and can be considered as the start of the 'Legend of Serah' timeline. Category:Hylian Realm Category:Storyline